


The Gift

by MissILikeTooManyFandoms



Series: Creampuff Week January 2015 [2]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-14
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 13:20:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3174778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissILikeTooManyFandoms/pseuds/MissILikeTooManyFandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura gets Carmilla an e-reader for her birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Yep. Late but catching up. My attempt at "Welcome to the 21st Century." Kind of spoilers for the book Allegiant but I guess you kind of have to sort of know to know it's a spoiler? Anyway have fun.

“Happy birthday, Carm!” Laura landed in the vampire’s lap, a box in hand. She was smiling but Carmilla could detect the nerves beneath the expression.

“Not even going to let the birthday girl get up first?” Her hands settled on Laura’s thighs, thumbs stroking towards her hips. She smirked at the way the smaller girl’s breath hitched. Her gaze lingered on Laura’s chest, but eventually Carmilla’s gaze landed on the small, flat box in her girlfriend’s hands. It was poorly wrapped in some silly Doctor Who paper, a tiny bow in the corner. It was atrocious looking but it was just so Laura that it made the vampire’s heart ache. She smiled at the girl in her lap, her hands inching higher. “And here I thought you were my present.” Her smile widened at Laura’s blush.

“You get both.”

“Oh, really? How generous.”

“I think you’ll like this better.”

“I highly doubt that, cupcake.” She squeezed Laura’s legs, earning a small squeak, before taking the offered gift. She opened it as carefully as possible, not wanting to destroy Laura’s handiwork. Unbeknownst to her roommate, Carmilla kept nearly everything Laura gave her in her duffle bag, from notes to even wrapping paper. Once the TARDIS covered paper had been set aside gently, much to Laura’s amusement, Carmilla opened the small black box. “Is it bigger on the inside?” Her joke earned the vampire a surprised gasp and quick kiss, Laura grinning as she moved back to watch her girlfriend open her present.

Carmilla’s hand met something cool and slick, her brow furrowing at the odd texture and weight in her hand. She slid the strange object from the box hesitantly, her brow crinkling further once the item was fully revealed. Laura was waiting with bated breath, biting her lip. The vampire glanced up, her features fraught with confusion.

“What the hell is this, creampuff?” The words escaped before she could formulate a question more suitable for her significant other, but to Carmilla’s surprise, Laura laughed.

“It’s an e-reader.”

“A what?”

“It’s to read books on. You know how I read fanfiction online? You can read books digitally. I already charged it up and downloaded some of your favorite books. Here, let me show you.” She took the tablet from Carmilla and pressed a button to the side, the screen lighting up. She tapped a few times and handed it back with a smile. The screen was white and now held the title page for _Beyond Good and Evil_. The vampire stared at the device for several moments before tentatively reaching out a finger and tapping it as Laura had done. Nothing happened. She tapped it again, her face twisted in confusion and frustration. A third elicited a giggle from Laura. “You have to swipe it.” Upon receiving a blank look, Laura reached over and demonstrated, Carmilla jumping in shock as the page changed. Laura laughed again. The vampire glared at her for a moment before swiping at the screen. The clear pleasure on her face at her success sent Laura giggling again.

“Do you like it?” Carmilla looked up. Laura’s smile had faded and she was no longer watching her play with the e-reader, nervousness etched into her features.

“Of course I do. Thank you, Laura.” The smaller girl perked up immediately, grinning brilliantly. She snatched the box that had been set aside and upended it, a small card falling out of it.

“I’m so glad you like it! I got you a gift card too. So you can buy more books to read on there. There are a lot of free ones too.”

Carmilla took the bright red card with a smile, leaning forward to press a kiss to Laura’s cheek. Her lips lingered for longer than necessary, tracking across her girlfriend’s cheekbone then back again and down her jaw. She set the card and e-reader to the side, her hands returning to Laura’s thighs. She pressed forward, easing her roommate on to her back, settling between her legs. She trailed more kisses down Laura’s throat, nudging aside the collar of her shirt with her nose. Laura’s fingers skimmed beneath Carmilla’s top, moving to scrape down her back as the vampire’s kisses moved lower and became more forceful.

“Can I unwrap my other present now?” Carmilla looked up from between Laura’s legs, pupils blown and fangs resting over her lips.

“Y-yes.” Laura’s breathy response earned her another ruined button-up but she did not have the mind to complain. She was beginning to think it was her birthday.

When Carmilla awoke, Laura nestled into her side, she reluctantly grabbed the abandoned tablet, turning it over in her hands. She would have much preferred to be running her fingers over the smooth skin pressed against her but it was clear that Laura had put quite a lot of thought and money into her gift and Carmilla was loath to hurt the girl in anyway. So she fumbled with it for several minutes, attempting to turn the damn thing on. When she finally rediscovered the button to the side, she suppressed a shout of joy.

After several more minutes of exploration and frustrated tapping, Carmilla managed to load up _The Metaphysics of Morals_. Laura had downloaded the work in German, which made the vampire smile. She did not, however, enjoy the way the light from the tablet shone on Laura. It made her look ill. She turned as well as she could so the light was off of her sleeping love. Pleased with the new position, she began to read but quickly became annoyed with the strange device. She abandoned reading and started to explore the e-reader again, scrolling through the small library Laura had begun. To her amusement and disdain, the fellow bookworm had loaded up a few of her own favorites, including all seven _Harry Potter_ books and a few other books, which based on the titles, Carmilla assumed were also young adult books. Her finger hovered over one of the titles and with a quick glance behind her at her sleeping girlfriend, she tapped it.

 

“Carm?” Laura’s eyes widened as she found herself facing the universal signal for “one moment, please.” She sleepily watched her girlfriend’s eyes rapidly scanning the screen before her. With a final swipe, Carmilla turned.

“Yes?”

“Did you sleep at all?”

“I did.” Carmilla waited a second before returning her gaze to her e-reader. Laura rolled her eyes. She was already beginning to regret buying the thing.

“What are you reading?” She attempted to look over the vampire’s shoulder but Carmilla quickly bookmarked and closed the page before turning the whole thing off. “You were reading one of my books. Weren’t you?”

“What? About some dumb girl who dies for no reason? I don’t think so.” Laura’s eyes lit up. “Shit.” Laura laughed as the vampire sighed.

“Ha!” The smaller girl’s eyes roved the bed and found the gift card peeking out from beneath the pillow. Even with half of it covered, Laura could see that the back had been scratched away. “Oh my god.”

“Cupcake, please don’t.”

“You didn’t just read my books! You bought the set! Oh my god.”

“You are never to tell anyone of this.”

“I can’t believe you read _Divergent_ and liked it.”

“The second one was better.” Carmilla’s reluctant grumble only had Laura smiling more. “The third one was horrid.”

“I don’t know. I liked parts of it.”

“The constant changing of point of view was bothersome and I don’t think I’ve ever read a worse ending to a story. She should have stopped after the second one.”

“You know what this means, don’t you?”

“Oh, no.”

“We have to watch the movies. We can go see the last one together!” Laura squealed and jumped up, running over to dig through her DVDs while Carmilla plopped back down on to the pillows, groaning.

 

Truth be told, Carmilla did not really like the damn thing all that much. She could appreciate the convenience of it, of having hundreds of books at one’s fingertips, but it was cold and impersonal. It was nothing like reading a book. It was too bright even on its lowest setting and she missed the yellowed pages she loved so much, the feel of paper between her fingers, the smell of old ink. She even missed, childishly, the sound of a page turning, that wonderful noise as old paper crinkled and slid against its fellow pages.

She continued to use it for Laura’s sake though, reading her silly young adult novels and some of the works that Carmilla no longer had in her possession. She even downloaded some of the Doctor Who “extended universe,” whatever that means, books for them to read together. That was one thing Carmilla did enjoy, being able to read with Laura on her chest and the tablet above them. It was strangely intimate. Carmilla also had to admit that being able to read anywhere and in any light was pretty neat.

 

“What the hell, Xena? Butterfingers much?” Her distaste, however, did not keep her from becoming extraordinarily angry when Danny cracked the screen.

 

She liked it even better when she discovered Laura’s hidden file of erotic fanfiction.  

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Allegiant doesn't have a release date but I wanted to set this a bit later than the release of Insurgent so this is just kind of set any time after March.


End file.
